Caribbean Poker & 5 Card Stud

Many still believe that all the credit for the birth of the popularity of poker should be given to 5 Card Stud.

In the first few World Series of Poker 5 Card Stud tournaments w ere commonplace when players like Bill Boyd used to dominate the game year after year. However, 7 Card Stud has since taken over with its attractive fixed limit action and high/low ball rules, while its 5 Card counterpart is now rarely played. Despite this there is still one place the game hasn’t been forgotten.

Caribbean Poker is a well known table game found on casino floors across the globe. The game is in reverse to traditional 5 Card Stud, but at the same time it still uses a similar concept and still follows the usual poker card ranking system with the Royal Flush the top hand.

Ithas also been known to earn players a fortune in its time, but even so Caribbean Poker is no push over. To begin with the player is dealt 5 cards face up versus the dealers 5 cards with only 1 face-up. In contrast, traditional 5 Card stud plays 1 card face down then deals 4 cards face-up in stages.

After the deal is complete the player needs to assess whether his/her hand is worth continuing with against the dealer. If the dealers face up hand is an indication of strength the player can fold forfeiting the ante bet, but if the face up card is weak and the player is holding a reasonable hand then he/she can bet a value double the ante. A reasonable hand would be a pair of tens or higher.

Furthermore, the odds to call or fold can move in the player’s favour as the dealer can only qualify with an Ace/King hand or higher. This is a fail safe for players with weak hands such as 2 sevens and decide to bet. They have a hand to play, but it’s not strong, so maybe the dealer will not qualify or maybe the dealer’s hand will be weaker giving the player almost double odds.

If the dealer doesn’t qualify, the bet is returned and the ante is paid out at even odds. On the flip side, if the dealer does qualify with a lower valued hand than the player then the player will paid back evens on all bets made.

Traditional 5 Card Stud may have completely disappeared off the scene, but for those who still have a love for the game the online casinos now have just the fix presenting a game of odds and opportunity with massive swings in probability. On the right day, as with 5 Card Stud games o f the past, you could walk away with a fortune, and on a bad day walk away from a game that also provides damage control.